Capito, Tennant, others to debate in October

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia Second District Congresswoman Shelley Capito’s U.S. Senate campaign announced Thursday the congresswoman has agreed to a debate in the Senate race.

Capito has accepted the invitation for the Oct. 7 televised debate in Charleston sponsored by the West Virginia Press Association, West Virginia Public Broadcasting and AARP West Virginia.

Capito said all four candidates for the open Senate seat should be part of the debate.

“Voters deserve to hear from all the candidates running for the U.S. Senate this year,” Capito said in a news release. “I welcome the chance to debate the issues that matter most to West Virginians, and the opportunity to discuss my proven record of fighting for West Virginia families versus Natalie Tennant’s record of defending President Obama and his job-killing, anti-coal policies.”

Secretary of State Tennant’s campaign said it’s been waiting for Capito to agree to debate the issues.

“I am glad to see Congresswoman Capito has finally accepted my challenge to debate and give West Virginians the opportunity they deserve to compare our very different records and visions for West Virginia,” Tennant said. “Make no mistake, Washington politicians aren’t on the ballot, this race is about West Virginia. And I’ll gladly put my record giving $3 million back to taxpayers and cutting fees for small businesses up against Congresswoman Capito’s record giving bonuses to Wall Street CEO’s and raising fees on small businesses to boost profits for credit card companies.”

The other two candidates on the ballot are Libertarian Party candidate John Buckley and Mountain Party candidate Bob Henry Baber.

MetroNews Staff

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Comments

Mister G!

If all candidates are invited to participate in the debate and given equal time, there's a good chance Bob Henry Baber of the Mountain Party wins on substance. Not that substance has anything with this race ...

August 17, 2014 at 8:54 pm |

LeftySteve

I think the all four candidates should be in the debate. Free Press is a myth taught in our schools. It's in our Constitution but no one seems to care. If all candidates on the ballot are not allowed in the debate where is the Free Press?

August 15, 2014 at 5:33 pm |

Marc Thompson

The WAR ON Coal is only the more recent business casualty of The Democratic Party's SUPER majority in West Virginia's stae legislature. The state is so anti job creating business climate, that the Dems have made the Mountain State a ONE party socialist welfare state which the rest of America from stand up comedians to Hollyweird satirizes. Slick Willy Clinton killed the Steel Industry through EPA and Executive orders. Now, King Obama and HIS prty has a bullseye on Coal.

August 15, 2014 at 1:15 pm |

Kid Rocke

It should be real entertaining to watch Capito beat up on Tennant like a rented mule.

August 15, 2014 at 12:51 pm |

Mike

I wonder if Tennant's discussion of her "record" will include allowing a convicted criminal in an out-of-state prison on the election ballot?

August 15, 2014 at 7:29 am |

MTNR

Mike,

Basically, the State cannot put additional eligibility requirements on the people running for President, which is a federal office. The requirements laid out in the Constitution are: 1) Must be a natural born citizen, 2) Must be at least 35 years old, 3) Must have been a resident of this country for the past 14 years.

There is nothing in the Constitution which bars felons from running for President, even if they are still in prison. Eugene Debs did it in 1920. Lyndon LaRouche was a convicted felon and ran in 1996.

August 15, 2014 at 9:28 am |

MTNR

The Constitution of the United States is very clear on the requirements to run for President:

1. Must be a natural born citizen.
2. Must be at least 35 years old.
3. Must have been a resident of this country for the past 14 years.

And that is it.

There is no mention of not being a convicted felon (or even being IN PRISON) when running for President. Just look at Eugene Debs in 1920. A convicted felon also ran for President in 1996; see LaRouche, Lyndon.

The STATE of West Virginia can place no more requirements on the person running for a FEDERAL office.

If she had refused to put him on the ballot she would have been sued. And the convicted felon would have won. Following the law is hard sometimes.

Facts are stubborn things, eh?

Here endeth the lesson, Mike.

August 15, 2014 at 8:46 am |

The bookman

MTNR

Those are the requirements to serve, not to gain access to the ballot. Different states have different laws that permit candidates on the ballot. Virginia has very difficult access requirements for their presidential ballot, so maybe the better question is what has she done to solve the problem of future Keith Judd like candidates on our ballot?

If you are teaching, we're waiting. If you're preaching, then I guess you're done.

August 15, 2014 at 1:23 pm |

MTNR

Last time I checked the SOS cannot introduce legislation.

There are 134 people who had the chance to do something about it, and none of them have acted.

Some ideas to make something like this never happen again would be making the candidate come to West Virginia and personally file or by gaining signatures.

But right now, since the law has not been amended, if another felon would file to run for president and pay the filing fee, they would be on the ballot.

And in case anyone is wondering, Secretary of State Betty Ireland (R) actually corresponded with Judd in 2008 and showed him how he could file to run for President as a write in.

Again, facts are stubborn things.

August 15, 2014 at 1:32 pm |

The bookman

MTNR

No, she isn't in the legislature. But as Secretary of State, it is her duty to oversee the election process, and certainly under her purview to protect the integrity of our elections. Mr. Judd was refused entry onto 13 ballots by Secretaries of State elsewhere, so why must our laws be so porous as to allow such access. Charlotte Pritt questions why such access was granted, and quite frankly, I think we deserve an answer. The US Supreme Court has upheld the rights of States to have varying degrees of access to ballots, and I for one think that following this debacle, ours should be strengthened. Of course the other more common option would have been to require Judd to sue to gain access. That would have taken some backbone from Tennant.

Maybe she is saving that for Harry Reid! Wink wink!

August 15, 2014 at 8:44 pm |

winston

West Virginia is changing 6 years of Obama have pointed out wrong headed polices of democrats.

August 15, 2014 at 5:19 am |

Dumb Liberals

Will admitted liberal m0r0n supporter (aka jock strap) Tennant (d) be able to speak without having her trusty pet, the tidy bowl captain, at her side to say what she really means?

August 14, 2014 at 9:46 pm |

billyed

Dumb LIPerals
What has Capito done in congress? Nothing!!! Obstruction, supporting a Paul Ryan budget, that's cuts and raises the retirement age on Social Security and cuts Medicare, wasted time on 40 plus votes to repeal healthcare, with no healthcare solution of her own, Gov't shutdowns, Phony scandals and Lawsuit against POTUS. Voting against improved wages for the Middle class.
All along while protecting offshore tax shelters, tax loopholes and unlimited anomalous campaign finances for the Corporations and the Rich.
No wonder Capito is a member of the least popular Congress ever. Approval of the way Congress is handling its job has dropped to 9%, the lowest in Gallup's 39-year history.

August 15, 2014 at 5:01 am |

Dumb Liberals

Good Morning billytard. Nice to see you are an MS-NBC 1%'er. Difficult to do anything when senile Reed dams up the legislative branch. Yet you tout m0r0n care as the saving grace. It has destroyed the liberal entitlement way of life. Sucking every dime from the poor. Then the m0r0n's Gestapo, to which jock-strap Tennant supported, is killing jobs in WV. You are one of the true m0r0n's m0r0ns - keep voting liberal demo, for they have destroyed you and your family's life style. Guess that's why your house has wheels, so you can move to another demo bastion.

August 15, 2014 at 6:55 am |

truth be told

DL
billyed's eating that MSNBC crap and loving it! These folks don't think for themselves, much less take care of themselves. The rich elitists who run the Dem national party know this and keep feeding them the same old crap - with a sprinkle of class warfare sugar so they lick it up.

August 15, 2014 at 7:43 am |

billyed

Watch Fox News ex-beauty pageant anchors with the sound off. So you are not confused by the Koch brothers and corporate campaign dollars spin.

August 15, 2014 at 2:36 pm |

Dumb Liberals

They sure are DUMB LIBERALS, aren't they!

August 15, 2014 at 8:42 am |

Mike

Will Capito's criminal dad be there to root her on? Crime pays in WV.

August 14, 2014 at 10:59 pm |

Dumb Liberals

Don't know, don't care. He's is still better than carpetbagger Jay who stole his entire career from stupid liberal voters in WV and gave nothing but destruction in return.